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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alums Jennifer Cordia and Kimberly Martin are among 25 female leaders being celebrated as the St. Louis Business Journal’s 2016 class of Most Influential Business Women.

The women were selected out of nearly 200 nominees, and are highly regarded for their business accomplishments, as well as their commitment to community service.

Jennifer Cordia, RN, BSN, MBA earned a bachelor’s from the SIUE School of Nursing in 1993. She is the vice president/chief nurse executive for Christian Hospital.

“It’s an incredible honor to receive this recognition,” Cordia said. “There are many amazing women in business and healthcare across the St. Louis region. I am humbled by this honor.”

Cordia’s passion for healthcare and community outreach led to the creation of the Community Health Access Program.

“I truly believe the future of healthcare is in the community,” she said. “We’re no longer assuming that patients will or can come to us. We need to go find the patients. We need to get in the community and reach every individual.

“What fills my bucket is finding new and innovative ways to take care of patients in our amazingly ever-changing healthcare environment.”

Also on the prestigious list is Kimberly Martin, BS, MS. Martin earned a bachelor’s in management information systems and accounting from the SIUE School of Business in 1983. She went on to achieve a master’s in management information systems from the University in 1986.

Martin has been with MasterCard for the past 25 years, holding various roles. She currently manages the company’s enterprise security solutions.

“It’s an honor to be recognized in this manner, along with so many other talented leaders in our community,” Martin said. “It’s also exciting, because as part of the process I get to meet so many interesting women in various industries, and learn about their background and experience.”

She credits the dynamics of the information technologies industry with keeping her job exciting and challenging.

“The IT industry is in another period of revolutionary change, with the advent of agile project development and the explosion of the “Internet of Things,” she explained. “What I love about this evolution is the focus on delivering software in a different way. Now, the focus is increasingly toward how teams work together.”

Martin is exploring this phenomenon – which factors make agile distributed teams most productive – in her doctoral studies. She began pursuing her advanced degree in 2014.

Cordia also hopes to pursue a doctoral degree in the future, to further develop her interest in community medicine and population health. She credits the SIUE School of Nursing with providing a solid foundation in her nursing education.

“SIUE has one of the strongest nursing programs in the area, and I am forever indebted to my many professors,” Cordia said. “They were incredibly focused, and they drove us as students to become better clinicians, better people and to be active members of our healthcare communities. Because of that, I am where I am today.”

The St. Louis Business Journal will profile the members of the 2016 class of Most Influential Business Women in its August 12 issue. A luncheon honoring the accomplished leaders will be held that day at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel.

Photos: Jennifer Cordia, RN, BSN, MBA, vice president/chief nurse executive for Christian Hospital.

Kimberly Martin, BS, MS, executive vice president, enterprise security solutions at MasterCard.